Let’s face it, users of database software systems often think the best way to manage information is to export it to MS-Excel and play with it there. Or, even worse, just start with a blank spreadsheet and build it out from scratch. Why do users do this? They are looking for an emergent environment to operate within.

What does this mean? It means that software users don’t always want just one button to push in order to perform a complex task. Most often, this is because the user has a special consideration they need to make which the software can’t natively handle. However, and more often than you may think, the software can handle the situation, but because the complexities are handled behind-the-scenes, the end user doesn’t trust the results and would therefore prefer to accomplish the task manually.

Software which provides a strong collection of basic, common functionalities is leveraging the power of emergence. This software doesn’t assume all the complex functions need to be provided. In contrast, it merely provides several smaller functions and allows the user to assemble these smaller parts into the comprehensive task they are wanting. Users like MS-Excel because it presents an emergent, “level playing field” in which untold complex tasks can be assembled in any way that the user sees fit.

This doesn’t mean that the powerful, single button functions are useless; however, the right answer for consolidating complex tasks is the use of “wizards” (aka task dialogs) which guide the user through the process in a step-by-step manner. Even MS-Excel has wizards for performing such tasks. My point is just because you can consolidate a complex task into a single button doesn’t mean you should. The user may be more comfortable if they see the task broken out into a handful of digestable steps in the form of a “wizard” and be less likely to spend undue time dumping the data out to a spreadsheet and performing the task manually.